Post objectives:

The post holder will have management responsibility for LCiL peer support and learning service (PSL).

The role provides day-to-day management and support to the service ensuring strategic and operational goals are successfully met.

The post holder will have line management responsibility for a team of three Facilitators.

This post is an essential management role contributing to the ongoing sustainability of LCiL enabling it to take forward a new three-year strategic plan which is currently being developed.

Peer support happens when people with shared life experiences come together to support each other. It is enabled through relationships that build mutual acceptance, understanding and that affirm everyone’s experience. PSL facilitates group peer support with disabled people and carers on all stages of their social care and Self-Directed Support (SDS) journey, empowering them to take ownership of, and have more control over, their health and wellbeing.

The power of peer support lies in connecting people in safe spaces where shared experiences develop into knowledge, skills, and confidence to self-manage, self-advocate, and address other issues that might be affecting their health and wellbeing, such as loneliness.

Through facilitating peer support, LCiL empowers disabled people and carers to build knowledge and confidence in their own support planning skills, increasing personal confidence and resilience to participate as holders of rights in their care and support, and equal partners in the SDS process.

PSL also works in partnership with The Action Group (TAG) to facilitate peer support with carers from BAME backgrounds and as a Facilitator, you will support these groups alongside TAG colleagues.

Alongside group work, PSL Facilitators provide one-to-one casework support to peer group participants on aspects of social care and SDS, and other matters to support their wellbeing.

To increase group members’ knowledge and awareness of SDS, PSL Facilitators provide information workshops on a variety of topics as part of the peer support sessions.

LCiL benefits hugely from the lived experience and insight from volunteer Champions who are a very valuable part of the LCiL family and the PSL programme. The postholder will work alongside and support Champions.

PSL offers a blended programme of activities and engagement including online and in-person across community locations.

The overarching purpose of the PSL programme is to facilitate person-led peer support, access to advice and information and rights-based support. The postholder is not required to have in-depth knowledge of social care and Self-Directed Support at application. We can provide training, learning and development in this area.

We want you to succeed with your application to join LCiL.

To help you, we will provide the interview questions in advance to all shortlisted candidates.

We want to hear about all of the skills and experience you can bring to this role. The ability to 'think on your feet' can be useful but it is not always a primary function of a role. We believe it helps to be able to sit with information and take the time you need to think through your responses, examples, your skills and experience, so you can bring the best of yourself to your LCiL interview.

The post holder will provide management and leadership that supports LCiL to deliver and grow person-led, innovative, and high-quality services that are informed and shaped by the voices, the experiences, rights and capabilities of disabled people and their carers.

The overarching purpose of these services is to facilitate person-centred access to advice and information and rights-based support. The postholder is not required to have in-depth knowledge of social care and Self-Directed Support at application. We can provide training, learning and development in this area.

Post Objectives:

The postholder will contribute to the effective delivery of the Independent Living Service supporting disabled people, their carers and families who are considering, or are in receipt of, Self-directed Support (SDS).

The Independent Living Officer will provide independent advice, information, and one-to-one support to help disabled people understand SDS, empowering service users to identify and implement person-led independent living opportunities.

The service offers flexible support ensuring disabled people, their carers and families can access help in ways that work for them. As part of this, the postholder will undertake outreach including home visits, where these best fit the needs of service users. The postholder will work across Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian and West Lothian as needed.

LCiL implements a rights-based approach to strategy and service delivery. Our advice, information and support services proactively promote and work to protect the human rights of disabled people and their carers. By working alongside others, we increase the ability of those with responsibility for fulfilling rights to recognise and know how to implement those rights, and make sure they can be held to account.

The Independent Living Service also works in partnership with VOCAL to deliver the Support in the Right Direction-funded service, supporting carers and supported people at all stages of their social care journey in Edinburgh and Midlothian. As part of this work, LCIL supports carers and the cared for person to become employers, providing practical support and training to help them build their knowledge and confidence in this role.

The overarching purpose of these services is to facilitate person-centred access to advice and information and rights-based support. The postholder is not required to have specialist knowledge Self-Directed Support at application. We can provide training, learning and development in this area.

We want you to succeed with your application to join LCiL.

To help you, we will provide the interview questions in advance to all shortlisted candidates.

We want to hear about all of the skills and experience you can bring to this role. The ability to 'think on your feet' can be useful but it is not always a primary function of a role. We believe it helps to be able to sit with information and take the time you need to think through your responses, examples, your skills and experience, so you can bring the best of yourself to your LCiL interview.

Care Support Scotland

We are a charity with decades of experience supporting people across Scotland, providing those who need us with support that ranges from Mental Health, Learning Disability and Neurodiversity, Youth and Adult homelessness and Older People services.

Why work with us?

We have the following benefits to help attract and retain the best talent, ensuring we provide high quality care to those we support, this includes:

• 6% employer pension contribution
• Death in benefit cover (2 times salary)
• Enhanced Sick Pay
• Fully funded qualifications
• Career development and progression opportunities

Who we are looking for:

Are you passionate about making a difference in the lives of others through Positive Behaviour Support and Trauma-Informed Practice? Care Support Scotland is looking for a dynamic individual with a proven track record in social care to lead and inspire our team.

The ideal candidate will have prior experience as a registered manager of an adult social care service, along with expertise in staff management and service development. Strong ICT skills and the ability to articulate and implement service improvements are essential.

Join us in our commitment to promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion. We seek someone dedicated to our mission and values, who can bring innovative ideas for service delivery, staff development, and business development. If you have the experience and drive to support and expertly supervise our talented team while enhancing service delivery, we want to hear from you. Be a part of something meaningful and help us grow and develop our services to better serve our community across Edinburgh and the Lothians.

Responsibilities of the Service Manager include:

(please read the full job description attached for more information on the role)

Service Delivery

• Offer and maintain a comprehensive, procedurally correct, high standard and forward-thinking service, which meets health and social care standards requirements; Provide vision, creativity and a multi-disciplinary approach to service delivery. Manage the selection process for all applicants, supervise the management of each tenancy support / care package’s delivery ensuring collaboration with all relevant parties and facilitate regular reviews;

Service Management

• In collaboration with finance team, ensure the Service’s invoice management is timeous and effective. Ensure all support delivery provided by staff, including direct support, indirect support, group work, cancelled support, travel, third party notes and telephone calls is accounted for administratively and systematically. Ensure the provision of support is monitored, analysed and reported on a weekly basis, and that any contract variations are reported timeously.

Participation and Integration

• Facilitate the people you support lifestyle choices, rights and communication needs. Develop participatory methods to enable the opportunity for people we support to be involved in the overview, development, and evaluation of their Service and Care Support Scotland. Enable access to independent advocates

Service Development

• Develop services in partnership with the Developments Team by pursuing local growth through Spot Purchase of non-core care at home and supporting people, trusts / grants or block grant. Support and lead key elements of service development, this could include the opening of new services, or the expansion of current services.

Staff Management

• Manage, lead and motivate staff by ensuring an innovative and dynamic support service; Work in partnership with People and Culture to ensure best practice in the application of people policies and in leadership add management. Facilitate training that is either statutorily required or required to ensure the positive development of staff.

Essential Skills and Attributes:

• A relevant practice qualification (at least SCQF level 9 or above) recognised by the SSSC, in the category of managers of a Housing Support Service
• A relevant management qualification (SCQF level 9 or 10) recognised by the SSSC, in the category of managers of a Housing Support Service.

Additional Notes:

Shift work, weekend work and sleepovers may be a requirement of this role, sleepovers attract an additional payment. Flexible working arrangements are also available. These can be discussed at your interview.

PVG scheme membership and SSSC registration are requirements of this post.

We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced health and social care practice assessor to join our national Learning and Development team.

As a SVQ Assessor/Internal Verifier, you will work remotely within our internal SQA Approved Centre, which was awarded “high confidence” from SQA and “outstanding” feedback in our latest external verifications. You will predominantly support our staff in services in Fife, Forth Valley, the Lothians and the Borders to gain their qualifications in SVQ Level 2, 3 or 4 Social Services and Healthcare. You may also support candidates from other service areas as required.

You’ll lead candidates through their induction onto their qualification, plan assessments, provide learner support and assess holistically. You’ll be passionate about learning and experienced in offering additional learner support to suit a variety of learning styles and abilities. You will have strong organisational and communication skills, be comfortable and confident in the use of online tools such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom and MS Office.

Working with around 30 candidates a year, we support candidates to complete most of their awards remotely via e-portfolio, but travel is required for direct observations and to support candidates. Flexibility and willingness to travel are essential to the role, which involves a combination of remote home-based working and travel to our services/office locations. Travel to other regions of Scotland may be required from time to time.

You must have a valid UK driving licence and access to your own car.

The post requires you to have a minimum of 2 years’ experience in Health and Social Care and a care qualification at SVQ Level 3, or equivalent. Ideally you will hold an SVQ Assessor and an Internal Verifier award, alternatively you must have a willingness to work towards these professional qualifications.